Bean-harvesting machine.



No. 798,590. PATENTED SEPT. 5, 1905.

O.BAER. H ,BEAN HARVESTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JAN.16, 1902.

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No. 798,590. PATENTED SEPT. 5, 1905. 0. BABE.

BEAN HARVESTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JAN.16. 1902.

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PATEN OFFICE.

CHARLES BAER, OF MENDON, MICHIGAN.

BEAN-HARVESTING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 5, 1905.

Application filed January 16, 1902. Serial No. 90,079-

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES BAER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Mendon, in the county of St. Joseph and State of Michigan,have invented a new and useful Bean- I-Iarvesting Machine, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to harvesting-machines, and has for its object toprovide an improved machine of this character which is particularlyadapted for harvesting beans.

It is furthermore designed to have the machine arranged to cut or dig uptwo rows of beans at a time, to guide or direct the dug-up plants towardthe longitudinal center of the machine, to elevate said plants upwardlyand over the rear end portion of the machine, and finally to dump ordischarge the vines in bundles upon the ground in rear of the machine.

Further objects reside in providing for the vertical adjustment of thecutting-knives, so as to vary the depth of the cutting action thereof,according to the requirements of different plants, and also to have theknives out of action when the machine is traveling over roads or otherfields, to provide for conveniently dumping the vines when a suflicientquantity thereof has been collected upon the rear of the machine to forma bundle of the desired size, and also to provide for throwing themachine out of gear whenever it may be desired to stop the elevator.

Vith these and other objects in view the present invention consists inthe combination and arrangement of parts, as will be hereinafter morefully described, shown in the accompanying drawings, and particularlypointed out in the appended claims, it being understood that changes inthe form, proportion, size, and minor details may be made within thescope of the claims without departing from the spirit or sacrificing anyof the advantages of the invention.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a bean-harvesterconstructed and arranged in accordance with the present invention. Fig.-2 is a top plan View thereof. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view.Fig. 4c is an enlarged detail perspective view showing the bundlecarrier and dumper.

Like characters of reference designate corresponding parts in all thefigures of the drawings.

In carrying out the present invention there is provided a substantiallyrectangular metallic mainframe comprising a front end bar 1 and oppositelongitudinal side bars 2, the rear ends of which are not connected by arear end bar. Across the rear portion of this main frame is an axle 3,journaled in suitable bearings t, carried by the sides of the frame andalso provided at opposite ends with suitable supporting-wheels 5, havingbroad rims to pre 'vent sinking of the wheels into the ground,

and also having transverse ribs or projections 6 to prevent slipping ofthe wheels upon damp or wet soil. As indicated by the dotted lines at 7,it will be understood that each wheel is provided with a ratchetmechanism, so that the wheel may rotate loosely in a rearward direction.An arched brace 8 connects the opposite sides of the frame and islocated adjacent to and in rear of the axle, and a tongue or draw-bar 9projects a suitable distance in front of the machine and is connected tothe front end bar 1 by means of the brackets or braces 10 and alsobolted or otherwise secured to the arched brace-bar 8, whereby thetongue is elevated a suitable distance above the top of the main frame.The usual drivers seat 11 is supported upon the rear end of the tongue.

Within the main frame and below the tongue or draw bar there is provideda supplemental or knife frame 12, which embodies a front end bar andopposite side bars and has the rear ends of its side bars pivotallyconnected to the respective sides of the main frame, as indicated at 13,slightly in rear of the arched brace-bar 8, whereby this frame isadapted to swing or rock vertically upon the pivotal supports 13. Ateach front corner of this supplemental frame there is provided astandard or hanger 14, which depends from the frame and is provided atits lower end with a knife-blade 15, which projects in front and rear ofthe front end bar the front of each blade rises a guard or fender 16,preferably in the form of a metal rod which is bowed upwardly andrearwardly, so as to prevent the vines from falling over upon the outerside of the knife-blade and also to prevent the cut vines from becomingentangled with the adjacent hangeror standard 14. Another substantiallyhorizontal guard or fender 17 has its forward end connected to theadjacent hanger or standard 14 and inclines inwardly and rearwardly, soas to aid in directing the cut vines toward the center of the machine.By this arrangement of cutting-knives and guards it will be seen thatthe cut vines are effectually gathered inwardly, so as to finally mergeinto a single continuous row of cut vines for convenience in being takenup by the elevator.

For raising and lowering the knife-frame there is provided a rock-bar18, which is mounted transversely across the top' of the tongue ordraw-bar 9 and slightly inrear of the front end of the main frame, theopposite ends of the rock-bar being provided with forwardly-directedcrank-arms 19, from the outer ends of which dependdinks 20, which areconnected in any suitable manner to the front end bar of the knife-frame12. An arcuate rack-bar 21 is supported upon the top of the tongue andstraddles the rock-bar 18, and a suitable ratchet-lever 22 is connectedto the rock-bar and is in operative relation to the rack-bar 21. It willof course be understood that the ratchet-lever 22 is in position forconvenient manipulation from the drivers seat, whereby the knife-framemay be adjustably elevated, so as to vary the depth of the cut of theknives and also to raise the latter entirely out of engagement with theground when the machine is not in operation.

In order that the cut vines may be gathered up and discharged over therear end of the machine, there is provided an elevator for carrying outthis'object and embodying a frame comprising opposite side bars 23,which are connected by an intermediate cross-bar 24, as best illustratedin Fig. 3 of the drawings, the opposite ends of the side barsbeingconnected by the upper and lower shafts 25 and 26, respectively,the frame being located within the rear portion of the main frameprojected in front of the aXle and terminated adjacent to the rear endsof the knife-blades and also inclined upwardly and rearwardly to theextreme end of the machine. The forward portion of this elevator-frameis hung from the main frame by means of suitable brackets, one of whichhas been illustrated at 27 in Fig. 1- of the drawings and the oppositecorresponding bracket being indicated by the same numeral in Fig. 3 ofthe drawings. The upper or rear shaft 25 is projected at opposite sidesof the elevator-frame, and each end of this shaft is journaledin atubular socket or bearing 28, which is formed transversely upon the topof a bracket 29, which is secured to the rear end frame.

of the adjacent side of the main frame, said bracket having a transverseledge or shoulder 30 lying against the top of the side bar, so as toprevent swinging movements of the bracket, and the lower end of thisbracket projects below the mainv frame and is provided with atransversely-disposed tubular bearing-socket 31. Sprocket-wheels 33 and32, respectively, are provided upon the shafts 25 and 26, and over thecorresponding sprocket-w heels travel the sprocket-chains 34 of anendless elevator, which embodies a plurality of slats or crossbars35,connected at opposite ends to the chains and provided withlaterally-projected pins or fingers 36, Immediately above theelevatorframe and extending parallel therewith is a plurality of spacedflat guard slats'or members 37, between which work the fingers or pinsupon the upper side of the elevator, said fingers or pins beingprojected a suitable distance above the guard-slats, so as to carry thevines upwardly across the slotted table formed by the guard members. Thelower ends of the guard members are bowed downwardly and rearwardly, asat 38, so as to pass around and rearwardly beneath the lowerelevatorshaft 26 and have their extremities connected to a pair ofcross-bars 39, which lie transversely beneath the elevator-frame andhave their opposite ends connected to the sides of said frame by meansof suitable brackets or hangers 40, which form the sole supports forsaid guard members. The upper and rear ends of the guard members arebowed upwardly and rearwardly, as indicated at 41,- so as to clear theupper teeth or pins of the endless conveyer or elevator and also toproject over and in rear of the shafts 25, whereby the vines may becarried over the rear end of the machine without interfering with theshaft 25.

To prevent the fingers or pins 36 from striking the cross-bars 39 shouldthe chains of the elevator become slack, there is provided at each sideof the elevator an upwardly-bowed guide or guard 42, consisting of abowed or arcuate spring strap or plate having its opposite ends extendedinwardly in opposite directions and secured to the respective crossbars39, as indicated at 43, and located in the path of the slats of theelevator, whereby said slats are raised by the guard or guide, so as toelevate the pins above the cross-bars 39,

and thereby prevent said pins from engaging with the cross-bars andinterfering with the movement of the elevator.

The elevator is driven from the wheeled shaft of the machine by means ofa sprocketwheel 44, carried by one end portion of the shaft and providedwith a sprocket-chain 45, running over a sprocket-wheel 46, mounted upona bracket 47, which is projected outwardly from the adjacent side of themain The stub-shaft upon which the small sprocket-wheel 46 is mountedalso carries a large gear 18, which is in mesh witha smaller pinion 19,carried by the adjacent end of the rear shaft 25 of the elevator,

To throw the elevator into and out of operation, the pinion 49 ismounted to slide upon the shaft 25, so as to be thrown out of mesh withthe gear 48, thereby to stop the movement of the elevator. Forcontrolling the slidable movement of the pinion 19 there is provided a'two-membered shifting-lever 50, which is fulcrumed at an intermediatepoint upon the arched brace 8, as indicated at 51, the rear end of thelever being connected to the hub of the pinion in any suitable manner,so as not to interfere with the rotation thereof, and the forward endof-the lever being connected to an upstanding controlling-lever 52,which is fulcrumed upon the tongue 9 in front of and in convenient reachfrom the drivers seat.

It will of course be understood that the elevator travels in thedirection indicated by the arrow shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings,whereby the vines which have been dug up by the knives are engaged bythe fingers of the elevator and carried upwardly and rearwardly over theslotted table formed by the slats or guards 37 and finally dischargedover the rear of the frame. It will now be understood that the rear endof the slotted table is bowed upwardly to clear the rearmost fingers ofthe elevator in order that the vines may not be pulled inwardly into theslots or spaces between the guard members 37.

In order that the vines may be collected in bundles of considerablesize, there is provided a combined bundle carrier and dumper in the formof a fork located in rear of the machine and comprising a cross-head 53and a plurality of rod-like tines or fingers 5 1, which have their innerends extended downwardly, as indicated at 55, and then bent outwardlyand rearwardly, so as to form a basket to hold the vines after they havebeen discharged from therear end of the elevator. Each end of thecross-head 53 is provided with ahinge-bracket 56, which is provided inits upper end with an arm or member 57, projected in front of thecross-head and having 'a front terminal outwardly-directed pin orprojection 58, forming a pivot-stud, which is normally supported in thebearing-socket 31, carried by the adjacent bracket 29 upon the rear endof the main frame, whereby the carrier is capable of a vertical rockingor tilting movement. F or controlling the movement of the carrier thehinge-bracket 56, which is opposite the drive connections for theelevator, is provided at its lower end with a forwardly-directed arm 59,which projects in front of the cross-head 53 and is connected to therear end of a link or connecting-bar 60, which inclines upwardly andforwardly and has its upperend connect.-

ed to a rock-lever 61, fulcrumed intermediate of its ends upon the topof the arched brace 8, the inner end of said lever having a connectingrod or link 62, which is connected to the lower end of a foot-lever 63,fulcrumed intermediately upon the adjacent side of the tongue 9 and inposition for convenient manipulation from the drivers seat. A helicalspring 64 has its forward end connected to the under side of the tongueand its rear end connected to the inner end of the rocking lever 61 bymeans of a link or other suitable connection 65, the purpose ofsaidspring being to normally hold the bundle-carrier in a substantiallyhorizontal position, so as to receive the vines as they pass over therear end of the machine. By forcing the upper end of the lever 63 in aforward direction the outer end of the rocking lever 61 will be movedforwardly, thereby drawing upon the connecting-rod 60, and thus tiltingor swinging the bundle-carrier in a downward position upon its journals58, thereby to tilt the carrier downwardly and rearwardly for thepurpose of dumping the bundle of vines collected thereon. By this meansthe cut vines may be conveniently collected into bundles of suitablesize and separately dropped upon the ground for convenience in afterwardgathering them up instead of strewing the vines in a continuous line inrear of the machine.

The machine operates in the following manner: The knife-frame and knivesare adjusted by means of the lever 22 to cut at the desired depth belowthe surface of the ground, and as the machine moves forward these kniveswill operate with a drawing cut to scrape or dig the vines from theground without leaving any standing stalks. By reason of the rearwardconvergence of the knives and the guards thereof the two rows of cutvines are gathered inwardly toward the longitudinal center of themachine, after which they are engaged by the fingers of the elevator andcarried upwardly and rearwardly over the slotted table thereof untilthey are finally dropped upon the carrier at the eX- treme rear of themachine, where they remain until abundle of sufficient size has beencollected, and then the carrier is tilteddownwardly in the mannerhereinbeforedescribed, so as to dump or discharge the bundle of vines tothe ground.

From the foregoing description it is apparent that the present machineis arranged to cut or dig up two rows of vines at a time, to gather thecut vines to the longitudinal center of the machine, so that they may beeffectually acted upon by the elevator to carry the vines upwardly andover the rear end of the machine, and to finally collect the vines in abundle, which may ultimately be dropped or discharged to the ground.Furthermore, these several operations are carried out in a simple andconvenient manner, as the cutting-knives are stationary with respect tothe frame of the machine during the cutting opdescribed, the combinationwith opposite standards, of rearwardly-converging knifeblades carried byand projecting in front and rear of the standards and having innerlongitudinal cutting edges, upwardly and rear' wardly extended curvedguards or fenders mounted on and carried by the forward ends of theblades, other guards or fenders carried by the standards and convergingrearwardly therefrom, said last mentioned guards or fenders beingarranged in rear of the blades and spaced from the same, and conveyingmeans of greater width than the distance between the rear ends of theblades for conveying the cut material upward from the ground.

2. In a harvesting-machine of the character described, the combinationwith an axle, and wheels, of a tongue secured at its rear end to theaxle, a main frame secured to and extending forwardly from the axle andlocated beneath and connected with the tongue, a vertically-tiltingframe hinged at its rear end to the axle and arranged to swing throughthe main frame, cutting mechanism rigidly mounted on and movable withthe tilting frame and adapted to cut the vines from the ground, meansmounted on the tongue and connected with the tilting frame for adjustingthe same upon its hinged support, and a conveyer disposed in rear andindependently of the vertically-tilting frame and mounted rigidly uponthe main frame to carry away from the cutting apparatus the vines cutthereby.

3. In a harvesting-machine of the character described the combinationwith a main frame having an axle and wheels, and a draft-tonguesupported above the main frame, of a vertically-tilting frame locatedbelow the tongue andhinged to the axle, a transversely-disposed rock-barextending across the tongue and provided with opposite crank-arms, linksconnecting the crank-arms and the tilting frame, a lever carried by therock-bar, means for securing the lever in its adjustment, cuttingapparatus rigidly mounted on and movable with the tilting frame, and aconveyer disposed in rear and independent of the vertically-tiltingframe and mounted rigidly upon the main frame to carry away from thecutting apparatus the vines cut thereby.

4. In a harvesting-machine of the character described, the combinationwith a frame, of cutting apparatus carried by the front portion thereofand provided with means for guiding the vines rearward, conveying meansprising a transversely-disposed substantially horizontal rockingcross-head hinged to the rear portion of. the frame adjacent tothe rearend of the conveying means, and rearwardlydirected, substantiallyhorizontal fingers carried by the cross-head, a controlling devicemounted upon the frame of the machine, and a connection between thecontrolling device and the cross-head to rock the latter for verticallytilting the bundle-forming device.

5. In a harvesting-machine of the character described, the combinationwith a wheeled frame, of cutting apparatus carried by the front of theframe and adapted to guide the vines rearward, an upwardly andrearwardly inclined fingered conveyer located in rear of the cuttingapparatus, a bundle forming and discharging device carried by the rearof the frame and disposed to receive the discharge from the conveyer,and upwardly and rearwardly inclined guard members lying above theconveyer at opposite sides of the respective fingers and arranged tolift the vines from the fingers to permit the vines to fall upon thebundle forming and discharging device.

, 6. In a harvesting-machine of the character described, the combinationwith cutting apparatus, means for guiding the vines rearfingeredconveyer, a cross-bar carried by and hung from the conveyer, and guidescarried by the cross-bar and located in the path of the lower section ofthe conveyer to carry the same over the cross-bar.

7. In a h arvesting-machine of the character described, the combinationwith a wheeled frame, of cutting apparatus carried by the forward partof the frame and provided with means for guiding the vines rearward, anupwardly and rearwardly inclined fingered conveyer located in rear ofthe blades, a crossbar carried by and hung below the lower portion ofthe frame of the conveyer, guard members located above the conveyer andat opposite sides of the respective fingers thereof and adapted to liftthe vines therefrom, the lower ends of the guard members being bowedaround and extended in rear of the lower end of the conveyer, andupwardly-rounded guards or guides carried by the cross-bar and locatedin the path of the lower section of the conveyer to carry the same overthe cross-bar.

8. In a harvesting-machine of the character described, the combinationwith a main wheeled frame, of cutting apparatus carried by the forwardportion thereof and provided with means for guiding the vines rearward,a conveyer located in rear of the cutting apparatus and comprisingopposite upwardly and rearwardly inclined side bars within the mainframe, brackets connecting the side bars to the frame, upper and lowershafts connecting the corresponding ends of the side bars,sprocketwheels upon said shafts, a drive connection between one of theshafts and one of the supporting-wheels of the machine, sprocket-chainstraveling over the corresponding sprocket-wheels, fingered slatsconnecting the sprocket-chains, across-bar located below and hung fromthe opposite side bars of the conveyer-frame, a plurality of guard-slatslocated above the conveyer and disposed at opposite sides of the upperfingers thereof, the lower ends of the guardslats being extended aroundand in rear of the lower shaft and connected to the crossbar, oppositeupwardly-bowed spring-guides carried by the cross-bar and located in thepath of the under section of the conveyer to carry the same over thecross-bar.

9. In a harvesting-machine of the character described, the combinationwith a main frame, of cutting apparatus carried by the forward partthereof, means for guiding the vines rearward, brackets carried by therear end of the frame and having corresponding upper and lower bearings,an upwardly and rearwardly inclined conveyer located in rear of thecutting apparatus and having its upper shaft journaled in theupperbearings of the brackets, a verticallytilted bundle former and discharger journaled in the lower bearings of the brackets, and means fortilting the bundleformer upon its bearings.

10'. In a harvesting-machine of the character described, the combinationwith a wheeled frame, of cutting apparatus carried by the forwardportion thereof, means for guiding the vines rearward,vertically-disposed brackets carried by the rear end of the frame andhaving corresponding upper and lower bearings, an upwardly andrearwardly inclined conveyer located in rear of the cutting apparatusand having its upper shaft journaled in the corresponding upper bearingsof the brackets, a bundle former and discharger comprising a rockingcross-head, tines or fingers carried by and projectedrearwardly.therefrom, opposite hinge-brackets carried by the cross-headand provided with journals mounted in the respective lower bearings ofthe firstmentioned brackets, ohe of the hinge-brackets also having amember projected forwardly across the under side of the cross-head,controllingmeans mounted upon the frame, and an operative connectionbetween said means and the forwardly-directed part of the saidhinge-bracket.

11. In a harvesting-machine of the character described, the combinationwith a main wheeled frame, of a vertically-tilting frame hinged thereto,means for cutting the vines from the ground carried by the forwardportion of the tilting frame and provided with means for guiding thevines rearward, means for raising and lowering the tilting frame, anupwardly and rearwardly inclined conveyer mounted rigidly upon the mainframe in rear of the cutting means and independent of the tilting frameto carry away from the cutting means the material cut thereby, atiltablebundle former and discharger also mounted on the main frame in rear ofthe conveyer to re ceive the discharge therefrom, and means for' tiltingthe bundle-former to deposit its contents in bundles upon the ground.

12. In a harvesting-machine of the character described, the combinationwith opposite standards, of rearwardly-converging blades carried by thestandards, upwardly and rearwardly bowed guards or fenders carried byand rising from the forward ends of the blades and secured at theirlower terminals to the same, and conveying means of greater width thanthe space between the rear ends of the blades for carrying the vinesupward from the ground.

13. In a harvesting-machine of the character described, the combinationwitha wheeled frame, of cutting apparatus carried by the front of theframe, means for guiding the vines rearward, an upwardly and rearwardlyinclined fingered conveyer located in rear of the knives, upwardly andrearwardly inclined guard members lying above the conveyer and atopposite sides of the respective fingers thereof, the upper ends of theguard members being bowed over the upper end of the conveyer and therear end of the frame of the machine for lifting the vines from thefingers, and bundle forming and dumping means carried by the main frameand located in rear of the conveyer to receive material therefrom.

'14. In a harvesting-machine of the character described, the combinationwith a wheeled frame, of cutting apparatus, means forguiding the vinesrearward, an upwardly and rearwardly inclined fingered conveyer locatedin rear of the cutting apparatus, upwardly and rearwardly inclined guardmembers lying above the conveyer at opposite sides of the respectivefingers thereof with their upper ends bowed over the tops of theuppermost fingers and projected in rear of the top of the conveyer andthe rear end of the frame to lift the vines clear of the fingers, andbundle forming and dumping means carried by and projected inrear of theframe and disposed to receive the discharge from the rear ends of theguards.

15. In a harvesting-machine of the character described, the combinationwith a frame, of cutting apparatus, means for guiding the vinesrearward, a conveyer located in rear of the cutting apparatus, and abundle forming and dumping device carried by the frame in rear of theconveyer and comprising a sub-- stantially horizontal transverse rockingcrossbar, substantially horizontal fingers carried by the cross-bar andprojected outwardly in rear of the frame, and means for rocking the barto tilt the fingers downwardly and thereby dump the bundles rearwardlyand away from the machine.

I vines rearward, a conveyer located in rear of the cutting apparatus,and a bundle forming and dumping device disposed to receive thedischarge from the conveyer, with the discharge end of the dumpingdevice extended rearwardly from the frame, and means to tilt the rearend of the dumping device downwardly and forwardly to discharge itscontents rearwardly from the machine.

17. In a harvesting-machine of the character described, the combinationwith a frame, cutting mechanism arranged at the front of the frame, andconveying means for carrying the material upward from the ground, of abundle forming and discharging device comprising a transversely-disposedsubstantially horizontal rocking cross-head hinged to the rear portionof the frame, and rearwardlyextending substantially horizontal fingerscarried by the cross-head, a controlling device mounted upon the frameof the machine, and a connection between the controlling device and thecross-head to rock the same for tilting the bundle-forming device.

18. In a harvesting-machine of the character described, the combinationof a frame, cutting mechanism, an upwardly and rearwardly inclinedfingered conveyer for carrying the material from the cutting mechanism,upwardly and rearwardly inclined guard members lying above the conveyerat oppo: site sides of the fingers, the upper ends of the guard membersbeing bowed over the tops of the fingers at the upper end of theconveyer to lift the vines from the fingers and the rear end of theframe of the machine.

19. In a harvesting-machine of the character described, the combinationof a frame,

cutting mechanism, an upwardly and rearwardly inclined fingered conveyerfor carrying the material from the cutting mechanism, a cross-barcarried by and hung below the lower portion of the frame of theconveyer, guard members located above the conveyer at opposite sides ofthe fingers to lift the vines therefrom, the lower end of the guardmembers being bowed around and extending in rear of the lower end of theconveyer and connected to the crossbar, and upwardlyrounded guards orguides carried by the crossbar and located in the path of the lowersection of the conveyer to carry the same over the cross-bar.

20. In a harvesting-machine of the character described, the combinationof a frame, cutting mechanism, an upwardly and rearwardly inclinedfingered conveyer for carrying the material from the cutting mechanism,a cross-bar carried by and hung below the lower portion of the frame ofthe conveyer, and upwardly and rearwardly inclined guard members lyingabove the conveyer at opposite sides of the fingers, the lower ends ofthe guard members being bowed around and extending in rear of the lowerend of the conveyer and connected to the cross-bar, and the upper endsof the guard members being bowed over the tops of the fingers at theupper end of the conveyer to lift the vines from the fingers and therear end of the frame of the machine. 7

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixedmy signature in the presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES BAER.

